Indians in the US are reportedly hoarding bags of rice after India banned the export of non-basmati white rice on Thursday in order to keep local prices stable ahead of the general election in early 2024.
According to a report by Business Line, grocery stores run by Indians in the US have also started increasing the price of the rice bags, taking advantage of the opportunity. It quoted an NRI saying that a 9 kg bag of rice now costs $46.99 as compared to $15-16 before the export was banned.
“The rice bags that used to cost $15-$20 are now being charged up to $50 or even higher in some locations. Furthermore, few desi grocery shops came up with innovative ideas to force customers to spend a minimum of $35-$50 on other items to purchase a single rice bag, which is outrageous,” another report said.
Frontline also reported that prices of rice in the US have risen by around 11 percent.
“Unable to meet the panic demand, the owner of a store stocking Indian products in Mason town in Ohio State-enforced rationing by asking customers to restrict their purchase to one 20-pound bag (9.07 kg) of ordinary white rice per head, costing $24,” it added.
Videos of people panic-buying rice (mainly sona masuri) have also gone viral on social media. While CNBC-TV18 cannot vouch for the veracity of the said videos, we were able to independently confirm that the hoarding has begun in California, Chicago, New Jersey and even in parts of Canada.
Reports of these hoarding incidents come close to the International Monetary Fund encouraging India to drop its ban, cautioning significant impact on global inflation. These restrictions by the Modi government could be "harmful globally," the IMF said, and lead to "retaliatory measures."
In 2022-23, the North American market, which comprises the United States and Canada, imported 64,330 tonnes of non-basmati rice from India. Last year, India's two main diaspora markets, the Gulf countries and Europe, imported 6.95 lakh tonnes and 73,000 tonnes, respectively.
In all, India exported 17.78 million tonnes of non-basmati rice in 2022-23, up from 17.26 million tonnes the previous year.
First Published: Jul 22, 2023 9:59 PM IST
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